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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · arm · mark · ground · pitch · drill · roll · wound

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. ground — crushed
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. roll — a list
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wound — an injury
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pitch — completely
  14. roll — a cake
  15. mark — a trace
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ground — a position
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. drill — army training
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — a video
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com